My TWI Fellowship: Signal Officer’s Perspective

From idea to reality

By Capt. Joshua A. Rash, U.S. Space Command

Article published on: May 1, 2026 in the Spring 2026 Edition of Army Communicator

Read Time: < 4 mins

There I was: a key developmental (KD) complete captain looking at my options for the highly anticipated broadening opportunity, or the "fun job." As I scanned the different emails from branch and the Broadening Opportunities Program catalog in Germany, my eyes passed over the big names everyone knows: Downing Scholarship, Congressional Fellowship, and Bradley Fellowship. Then I landed on a program called Training with Industry (TWI).

It caught my attention because my career had been very tactical up to that point, and I was looking for an experience that would give me a broader, strategic perspective. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. It’s one of those opportunities easily lost in the noise, but it provides a unique experience that’s different for every person.

As I looked at my choices, life happened, as it does. I was forced to make a decision. Luckily, a conversation with my brigade commander changed everything. He had seen a previous signal officer go through the program and offered insight a catalog never could. He demystified TWI and convinced me of its value. I decided to apply for it – a choice that catapulted me into one of the best assignments of my career.

What I Thought I Was Getting Into

My commander's advice prompted me to look deeper. Research started where it always does: the regulations. Straight from Army Regulation 621-1 page 23, it reads, “The purpose of TWI is to provide selected Army personnel the opportunity to gain career-broadening experience while working in an industry environment. It also provides the participant’s organization the means to acquire needed skills or expertise to accomplish its mission.”

If you're like me, that description does not actually answer the question of what it is. Fortunately, advice from my brigade commander helped. He explained that there are usually a few different partner organizations each year and that the proponent – in my case, the Signal Branch – provides fellows with key areas of interest to focus on. This was enough information to have a productive conversation with my career manager. Most importantly, it helped me ask pointed questions about partner locations – a key factor due to my family's Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) status. That conversation was the final piece of the puzzle. My career manager confirmed a fellowship with Verizon Wireless was available in Maryland, a location that met my family's needs. With the location confirmed, I was accepted into the program, transforming TWI from an idea into a reality.

Armed with official regulation and some inside baseball, I built a picture in my head of how the year would go. In my mind, it was straightforward. I pictured myself arriving in Maryland, getting a firm handshake from a Verizon rep, and immediately being put to work on a technically challenging project. After one year, I would complete the program, relocate to my next unit, and go on to do great things. While some of that held true, part of it was way off the mark.

A Year on the Outside

For those unaware, you aren’t truly assigned to a unit in the area where you conduct your TWI Fellowship. On paper, you may be assigned to an ROTC battalion like I was. Or you might be in some other unit in the geographic area. All other administrative functions are taken care of by the student detachment, which is physically located in South Carolina.

You are truly alone, and while you may not admit it, you are afraid or at least a bit nervous. Gone is the constant backdrop of an organized Army unit. You must ensure that you are deployable, that your physical fitness is maintained, and that all other ancillary things taken for granted are done when it comes to your career. It is a giant culture shock that is truly a year on the outside.

So, how did my vision hold up against reality? My first point about receiving a welcome was partially right, although less formal than I had envisioned. My second point about being put to work immediately was correct. My third point – an expectation that the work would be purely technical – met a surprising reality. And my fourth point about going on to do great things is currently an ongoing journey.

On my first day, our Verizon TWI champion had set the stage. “TWI is a pick your own adventure.” I was attached to the System Performance and Radio Frequency Engineering teams, where I expected a technical deep dive that would strain my abilities. That technical dive did occur; however, I also spent the initial phase shadowing their directors, observing them negotiate with each other and with outside entities to reach a common goal.

The real learning happened when I was tasked with leading and briefing my own projects. One of the higher stakes projects was providing network support for the presidential inauguration. Another was more personal. Using my understanding of (and access to) the military, I collected data and presented recommendations that would improve the cellular network for service members and their families on military installations across the region.

While technical experience was present in both cases, the real test was not the data itself. It was getting buy-in from executives to turn recommendations into action. That is when the lesson hit home. Success did not come from being the best engineer or from being right. Success came from those who negotiated better and who communicated more clearly. It wasn’t just an observation.

I started to see opportunities where my own background could be useful. I was surrounded by deeply technical, intelligent people who struggled to explain their work in simple terms. I found myself falling back on a skill I took for granted in the Army: the ability to "Barney style" a complex topic. In the end, I had written 13 distinct technical "how to" guides for Verizon’s teams, turning complex processes into simple, repeatable steps for others to follow. The Army was not just taking from Verizon; I was providing a "needed skill" in return.

What I Walked Away With

As my TWI fellowship came to an end, I realized my initial expectations were far from the reality of the experience. Looking back, my original assumptions did not hold up. The biggest lesson I learned was not technical at all. Success in that corporate environment was measured by negotiation, communication, and influence; not by how smart or technical you were. These are competencies that we overlook sometimes as Signaleers. These skills are essential. At Verizon, I had watched teams negotiate project priorities. In my first few months on a combatant command staff, I was living it. We were tasked with "operationalizing" a new section, which meant getting our J3, J6, and several special staff to agree on a single plan. Getting buy-in was no longer a textbook term, it was the primary tool for making progress.

I remember the challenge of briefing non-technical executives. Almost immediately at the command, I was briefing our network status to the commanding general. That Verizon lesson hit home. The goal wasn't to prove my technical knowledge; it was to give a leader the exact information they needed to make decisions. This ability to translate complexity into clear information is a critical leadership skill.

So what is the strategic leap for the Army? It is realizing that the lessons I learned from Verizon were not some secret corporate sauce. They were a real-world application of Army leadership doctrine we already have. Think about the Army Leadership Requirements Model.

We all know the competencies: leads, develops, and achieves. The real gem of TWI isn’t another cert for your “I love me” book; it is a full year of reps and sets in the most challenging parts of the “leads” competency like “extends influence” (Department of the Army, 2025, incl c2) and “communicates” (Department of the Army, 2025, incl c2).

I had no authority at Verizon, and I had to persuade. On a large joint staff, where your rank is one of many, the exact same rule applies. For the Signal Corps, this is critical. It develops officers who can walk into any room and translate complex technical requirements into operational necessities that commanders understand. It builds leaders who can negotiate for resources and drive modernization, not just manage systems.

Ultimately, broadening opportunities like TWI create officers who are prepared for the modern military environment. It forces you to rely on influence and collaboration over authority. You return to the Army not just with new knowledge, but with a proven ability to lead in environments where you are not in charge.

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